Welcome to the Insanity!
Note: This review is for the entire series; not just the first half.
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"The journey is more important than the destination."
Story: 8.5/10
NHK delves deep into the mind of a reclusive 22 year old called Tatsuhiro Satou. Poor Tatsuhiro has no friends, no money aside from the allowance his parents give him, has dropped out of the university he was attending and doesn't appear to have any future. By the time the story gets going, he's already spent three years living the life of a recluse, only going out at night (when there are few people around) to fetch food.
The anime gets going with a bizarre dream sequence where the word 'conspiracy' gets thrown around a lot. Then, even more bizarrely, another dream like sequence occurs shortly afterwards, showing his household appliances speaking to him, voicing the negative thoughts that lurk in the back of his mind. These dreams/visualizations are far from unusual in NHK...
A Manic Love Story?
22 year old Satou is a NEET, and a hikkikomori. He never leaves the house. He just sits around drinking beer, smoking, and watching TV. On top of all this he is also delusional. He convinces himself that a group called the NHK (Nihon Hikkikomori Kyoukai) is out to get him and turn the entire country into NEETs. One day a pretty high school girl named Misaki visits him and offers to give him counseling to cure his hikkikomori condition. The 2 become closer and begin to rely on each other. As their relationship strengthens Satou is able to venture out and do things on his own. Lot's of drama and comedy ensue.
This anime is completely different from anything I've ever seen. It dark and methodical vibe are complemented by the main characters hilarious paranoia and perverted imagination. The production is top notch. Animation and music are all very good. It also stars 2 of my favorite voice actors, Chris Patton and Luci Christian. Given Satou's perverted imagination, this anime...
"If you have the courage to jump, have the courage to live."
"I'm gonna live on a mountain
Way down under in Australia
Its either that or suicide
It's such a strange strain on you..." -Cheap Trick
"Welcome to the NHK" is an anime that peeks into the world of hikikomori and other social illnesses. Hikikomori are NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training ) who often have a pathological aversion to normal human contact. Shut-ins, hermits, agoraphobics, call them what you will, but such disorders are becoming more common in modern Asian subcultures. While this anime starts off as a very comical look at the subject, it winds up in a very dark place and very serious in tone. Getting to know these characters is very fun as we're likely to see aspects of ourselves and others and have a good laugh, but the overall social relevance factor for this series is surprisingly high. The plot meanders at times, but the end result is a one-of-a-kind series that anybody interested in human psychology should thoroughly...
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